A Complaints Website 'Pays Back' Execs With a Dreadful Dinner Stunt

Reclame Aqui Secretly Filmed Directors From Companies With Poor Service

By Alexandra Jardine.Published on May 18, 2016

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When it invited a bunch of unsuspecting business executives to a restaurant opening, Brazilian customer complaints website Reclame Aqui was secretly filming a provocative stunt to highlight poor customer service .

The website picked directors from some of the country's most complained about businesses to invite to the meal (with the identities of the participants kept confidential.) They were then treated to some dire customer service, including burned bread, order mix-ups and ridiculously slow meals. Instead of receiving a bill at the end of dinner, they were handing a leaflet explaning that their experiences reflected exactly those of thousands of their own customers.

Shared on Reclame Aqui's social channels in late April, the "Payback Dinner" video, by Grey Brazil, clocked up 7.2 million views in less than three days.